For part II of the traditional Persian Norooz sweets, I present you with a select but delightful array of goodies that were on display and offered to guests at the home of my friend Sara. All of these sweets were handmade by Sara’s talented sisters in law.

These first batch of cookies may be my most poetic gastronomic discovery yet as I valiantly eat my way through Iran. They are called mojde ‘ye bahar – or literally: “spring’s good news.” And they really are good news. Crunchy, fragrant, with just the perfect hint of sweetness. Sara tells me that to make these, her sisters in law store blanched almonds and hyacinth flowers together — all the way from June and until just weeks before Norooz — so that the almonds absorb the fragrance of the hyacinths. They then use these almonds to make these pretty little crispy and sweet smelling puffs that are meant to resemble little blossoms. A truly wonderful treat.

These are called sohan – a type of sweet that is crispy, crunchy and toothsome.

These are bereshtook – a type of sweet that is soft and mildly sweet, with a melt in your mouth texture that is reminiscent of halva. (The beautiful needlepoint in the background is made by and courtesy of Sara.)

And let’s conclude with these beautiful noon ‘eh berenji cookies that are embellished with flower patterns and “mobarak b’ad” inscriptions.

And with that, I bid you a truly fond farewell and a happy weekend all the way from Tehran.

how beautiful the treats are, just imagine how much work went into the almonds and hyazinth blossom biscuits or the last cookies with the decoration on top – truly labours and offerings made with and filled with love. Times past in our more hectic “modernised” times where we don’t take the time to mindfully make things such as these….

Among my special memories of the year I spent in Iran were the many sweet shops I visited and the pleasant aroma of rose water that scented those shops. So why is it that we can’t just all get along? Every culture has such wonderful things to share. Listening to the news and official pronouncements, there is no goodness in the other and all we think about are doing each other in. When most people just want joy and happiness and are very friendly. amanandhishoe.com